Norway’s new aviation tax criticised

New tax is “ill-advised, damaging and counterproductive”
The Norwegian government’s new tax on air passengers has come into effect, a move bitterly criticised by aviation groups and airlines. It imposes NOK 80 (€8.59) on each departing passenger, for both domestic and international flights from Norway.
Airport operator association ACI Europe says it views the new tax as a worrying development. It is “short-sighted, as it ignores the economic and wider strategic benefits of air transport – the loss of which will significantly outweigh any short-term gains for the Treasury,” it commented.
“Air connectivity and GDP growth are closely interrelated. They actually reinforce each other, with every 10% increase in air connectivity yielding an additional 0.5% increase in GDP per capita.”
ACI continued: “Other countries such as Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands have all toyed with this kind of tax before and eventually repealed it. They did so acknowledging that taxing air transport directly hurts economic performance, and ultimately the state’s ability to collect wider tax revenues.”
Earlier this year, ACI Europe participated in a public consultation launched by the Norwegian government on this issue, outlining its concerns, with hard data to back up its claims.
A recent study found that aviation supports 4% of Norway’s economy, something that is now at risk with the new tax. Airlines like Ryanair and airports such as Oslo Rygge have also criticized the move.TTG Nordic